Al-Zaidi Orders Financial Review of Maysan Council After Border Shutdown

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi launched an investigation into the Maysan Provincial Council on Monday. The review targets the council's chairman, Mustafa Da’ir, who threatened civil disobedience if Baghdad kept the al-Shib border crossing with Iran closed. Iraqi officials confirmed the order, which follows a dispute over the status of the key transit point.

Authorities shut the crossing last week to upgrade security and detection equipment. An Iraqi official told Reuters that the work was scheduled for Wednesday. However, Kurdistan Democratic Party lawmaker Salwan Taha Akreyi suggested a different motive. He told Kurdistan24 that Baghdad closed the gate at Washington’s request. The goal, according to Akreyi, was to restrict transit to Iran and stop Tehran from strengthening its militias in Iraq.

Da’ir set a three-day deadline for the government to act before escalating the standoff. He warned that he would cut the province off from the rest of the country. Dozens of protesters joined the pressure campaign, blocking roads that lead to regional oil companies, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. The Badr bloc, a Shiite Islamist group, rejected the prime minister’s call for a probe. Shafaq News reported that the bloc argued the closure was harming the local economy and warned that the dispute could strain relations between Baghdad and Maysan.

Badr also urged the government to focus on alleged smuggling through unofficial crossings in the Kurdistan region. The al-Shib closure occurs while the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz pushes Iran to rely more heavily on land routes through Iraq and Pakistan. Tehran has condemned the shutdown, rejecting claims that the crossing was used to move drugs and counterfeit currency.